How often does stuff like this happen without us knowing? Judging by the actions of a Pittsburgh man, we're going to guess the answer to that question is "a lot."

A 26-year-old Pittsburgh resident named Joshua Van Auker was arrested recently and charged with attempting to extort former Steelers star Hines Ward. According to a police report, Van Auker sent a text message to Ward's personal assistant and threatened to release a bunch of evidence proving that Ward has paid for sex in the past. He demanded $15,000 for his silence. But, rather than pay the man, Ward's assistant reached out to police who set up a sting operation that ended with Van Auker being charged with two counts of attempted extortion.

Like we said, we're sure this happens more often than we know. But, it's nice to hear that this guy didn't get away with it.